CHICAGO
- MIDWEST CABARET REVIEWS
BOB MOREEN WON'T DANCE,
BUT HE'S QUITE THE SINGER
Reviewed
by Carla Gordon
When
I first heard that Bob Moreen was going to present a tribute show to
Fred Astaire I broke into a grin. I found the idea to be a remarkable
matching of artist and honoree. When I think of Astaire as a singer,
what I continue to admire is his ability to land a lyrical phrase. Since
that is also how I regard Bob Moreen, the combination had me anticipating
an elegant evening of cabaret at MAXIM'S in Chicago. I was not disappointed
for a second.
The grace reflected in Fred Astaire's dancing was mirrored
in his singing. Astaire modestly claimed that he couldn't sing. Nevertheless,
he introduced some of the most celebrated songs of his time including
Cole Porter's "Night and Day" in Gay Divorcee (1932); Irving Berlin's
"Isn't it a Lovely Day", "Cheek to Cheek" and "Top Hat, White Tie
and Tails" in Top Hat (1935), "Let's Face the Music and Dance" in
Follow the Fleet (1936) and "Change Partners" in Carefree (1938).
He first presented Dorothy Field's and Jerome Kern's "The Way You
Look Tonight" in Swing Time (1936).
Moreen makes correct interpretive choices again and
again. In "The Way You Look Tonight," like Fred, he resists the temptation
to oversing the Academy Award winning standard. Field's words are
prosaic yet rich in their simplicity; she offers up that laugh and
the wrinkled nose. Moreen talks to us in her voice and we get it.
Most of us think of Sinatra as the ultimate interpreter
of "One for My Baby" by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, but Fred introduced
the tune in the film, The Sky's the Limit. Moreen's understated presentation
takes us where we are meant to go; we see the bags under the weary
bartender's eyes, hear the tinny music from "the machine" and feel
each crack in the heart of the singer.
Because Astaire's voice had a light feel, (Moreen's
low register is actually more resonant than Fred's.) any Astaire tribute
faces the challenge that many of the songs may carry the same musicality.
Moreen addressed this effectively, by adding several novelty numbers
to the program. My favorite was "The Yam"from the movie Carefree:
with words and music by Irving Berlin. Moreen landed Berlin's word
plays including "yam session" and "yamateur" with impeccable comic
timing, delighting his audience (No "yamateur" he!) Irving Berlin
considered Astaire the equal of any male interpreter of his songs
- "as good as Jolson, Crosby or Sinatra, not necessarily because of
his voice, but for his conception of projecting a song". The audience,
mainly an older crowd nodded in familiar appreciation as Moreen smartly
delivered "How Can you Believe me When I said I Loved You, When You
Know I've Been a Liar All My Life?"
It was grand to hear familiar tunes like the Gershwins'
"They Can't Take That Away From Me," and even more fun to hear some
obscure ones like "I'm Building Up to an Awful Letdown." by Johnny
Mercer and Mr. Astaire himself. In black tie and tails in the first
act then white tie and tails for the second, Moreen delivered all
with aplomb. The anecdotes about Fred were another source of fun.
So forget Fred and Ethel. I may even forget Fred and
Ginger. For my money, it's Fred and Bob.
MAXIM'S in located at The Nancy Goldberg International
Center, 24 East Goethe Street, Chicago, IL - http://www.maximschicago.org/
Copyright, 2007 by Carla Gordon
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